'Adventure and challenge' awaits AST's new Anglican director

Balancing practical and spiritual education is the goal for director of Anglican Formation Debra Burleson

Debra Burleson is excited to be the new Director of Anglican Formation at AST. Photo: Jane Caulfield

For Archdeacon Debra Burleson, being the new director of Anglican education at the Atlantic School of Theology is both a privilege and a joyful experience.

"I can go to work today anticipating a meaningful conversation with somebody about things that matter," she says.

AST welcomed Burleson in September when the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island appointed her director of Anglican Formation.  Academic Dean Jody Clarke says  "she knows that good formation is critical in the cultivation of a vibrant church."

Clarke also says she "will insure that students who leave the formation program will have a good sense of the demands that fall on the shoulders of a priest."

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The Atlantic School of Theology offers a tri-deminsonal and ecumenical setting for students. Photo: Courtesy Dawn Robertson/Atlantic School of Theology

A call to ministry and education

Having graduated from AST with a master's of divinity in 2005, Burleson has a strong connection to the school. She was a member of AST's senate while she was a student and served for one more term after she was ordained.

But her own path to ministry enables her to offer a valuable set of skills to the position. Prior to her ordination in 2005 she spent 29 years as director of Nova Scotia's Museum of Natural History, where she was an educator, a mentor and an administrative leader.

She says her call to ministry came later in life. At about the same time she had a "spiritual awakening."

After her ordination she served as rector of the Parish of Seaforth, which is made of five rural parishes on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore, for nearly six years.

The Anglican Formation

The Anglican, United and Roman Catholic faiths were the founding denominations of AST nearly 40 years ago. Because of the ecumenical nature of the school, the classes that are denominationally specific need to be guided by what is referred to as a formation.

As the Venerable Geoffry M. Hall, from the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton describes in his article Anglican Identity and Formation, a formation "refers to how we are moulded and shaped to live the Christian life."

For Burleson the Anglican Formation at AST has a very specific purpose. Students in the Anglican faith need to learn how to be a good parish priest who includes  "the practical side but also the spiritual side - what exactly is going on in us as we decide that we are called to be a priest in a church."

Being a member of the Anglican Formation at AST is a thrilling experience for Burleson because "there's that sense of adventure and challenge and struggle with ideas, with the Bible, with the ecumenical setting. It's just very alive."

The benefits of ecumenical education

AST has a rare tri-denominational foundation and maintains an ideal of Christian unity, which Burleson feels is a benefit to the students.

"What makes the level of excitement, and intellectual and spiritual passion is that the faculty come from their own denominations. And they stand firmly and with conviction on the platforms that they believe God has called them to." she says.

From Burleson's perspective this kind of conviction in faith allows for a vibrant learning experience.

"Rather than just kind of being a dilution of everything, it is actually an intense and passionate exchange," she says.

She also adds that the ecumenism allows for a certain level of playfulness at AST that helps to build a strong community among students and faculty.

"The community has been incredibly welcoming and I am grateful for that," she says.

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